Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Hi! My name is Taryn. You can read more about me and my teaching philosophy at my PCC webpage. 

ESR 141 is an introduction to individual sustainability and introduces theory, principles and practices of sustainability and their applications at the individual scale. This course covers a wide range of topics including: ecological principles, food, water, energy, transportation, waste and consumption. Although we will consider many theories and global issues, the core work on this class is examining your personal relationship with the environment and finding ways to make positive change. This is a perfect class for anyone who has an interest in our environment and sustainability! It also counts toward the PCC Sustainability Focus Award. 

This remote class will meet via Zoom on Tuesday mornings from 10-11:50. The remainder of class time will be asynchronous (watching videos, completing discussions, and completing activities) at a time that works for you. All Zoom meetings will be recorded and although coming to all of the live Zoom sessions is strongly encouraged, the recordings will be available if you need to miss a week. I hope that providing flexibility in how you attend class can help you succeed.

Breakout group discussions will be offered and are highly encouraged, but not required. Using cameras and microphones to ask questions and join class conversations is encouraged, but not mandatory. I love to see your faces and engage with you, but I want you to learn in whatever way feels best for you! I am trying to make this class as accessible as possible and will offer flexible due dates and a variety of content and ways of engaging with the material.

One of my main focuses right now is creating a space that feels inclusive for everyone. I know that each of you comes to my class with a unique history and prior life experience. I hope you will feel comfortable sharing your personal knowledge with me and with the class so that we can all learn together. We are all experts of our own experience!

Still curious? Here is the course syllabus from last summer: ESR 141 Summer 2023 Syllabus. Take a look to get a better idea of what to expect! Please note that the summer term course is only 8-weeks, so it is faster paced than the spring term class will be. Also, the projects and content will likely change, but the general structure will stay similar.

* This class is fully remote and there are no in-person meetings *

Please email me at taryn.oakley@pcc.edu if you have any questions or would like more information about the class!